California's athletic regulator has ordered a robotics company to stop staging fights between humans and humanoid robots. The California State Athletic Commission sent a cease-and-desist letter to REK over a September 18, 2026 cage match that featured YouTuber Frankie LaPenna facing three different robots. The order was dated September 30, 2026. REK publicized the letter on social media, writing that California had sent it a cease-and-desist for an unsanctioned human versus humanoid robot cage fight.
The commission's letter directs REK to halt holding, promoting, or advertising any boxing or mixed martial arts contest, match, or exhibition involving any human in California without prior approval from the commission. It also bars promoting or participating in such an event without a license under Business and Professions Code section 18640. The letter notes that sections 18870 and 18878 make it a misdemeanor for a person or promoter required to be licensed by the State Athletic Commission to hold, aid or abet, or attempt to hold such a contest without first obtaining a license or permit, or to otherwise violate the State Athletic Commission Act.
Whether the LaPenna event was a genuine sporting contest or a promotional stunt remains unclear, but it was plainly used to draw attention to REK's robot fighting platform. REK has advertised its events with the tagline "Real pilots, real punches. Humanoid robots in brutal, full-contact combat." The company also offers private events in which robots face off over three rounds.
The commission's intervention fits its mandate, since the state agency regulates combat sports in which at least one participant is human in order to ensure fairness and enforce safety. The wording of the cease-and-desist suggests the commission would not have stepped in if the September 18 fight had involved only robots. A robot on its own carries dangers, and pitting a human against one raises safety and ethical questions.
REK's concept echoes the 2011 film Real Steel, in which Hugh Jackman's character and his son train a discarded humanoid boxing robot that climbs the ranks to challenge the reigning champion. There is no indication that REK drew inspiration from the movie, but the similarity between the two concepts is notable. Another robot startup has also followed Hollywood's lead, decommissioning old robots in "Terminator-style" fashion by having them jump into a vat of molten steel.
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